Cement firms to appeal against CCI penalty

Cement firms including ACC, Ambuja and India Cements have said that they will move the Compat against fair trade regulator CCI’s order to impose a Rs 6,700 crore penalty, while others like UltraTech and Shree Cement have adopted a wait-and-watch approach.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had slapped an over Rs 6,700 crore penalty on 11 cement firms for indulging in cartelisation. In separate regulatory filings, LafargeHolcim-controlled Ambuja Cements and ACC as well as India Cements and Ramco Cements said that they will approach the Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) against the judgement.

However, Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech Cement, Shree Cement, Jaiprakash Associates and JK Cement said they will decide the future course of action after studying the order and seeking legal advice.

Even as cement companies have taken a cautious approach, CREDAI, the apex body of private real estate developers, said the judgement is “encouraging” for the entire construction ecosystem.

“The developer community has always claimed that there is an unprecedented increase of cement prices at certain times of the year and it results into cost of construction for affordable homes going up,” CREDAI said in a statement.